Semi Truths A highly irregular weblog dedicated to Truth, Justice, and American Cheese…!

April 18, 2007

Inconceivable

Filed under: Charlottesville,Crime and Punishment,Politics,Virginia — semi @ 9:55 pm

On August 1, 1966, twenty-five year-old Charles Whitman ascended the UT clock tower with a personal arsenal and, shortly before noon, began shooting tourists and passersby. He killed 15 people that day, including his wife and mother that morning, and wounded 31 others. It was a horrible crime that shocked a nation. More than twenty years later, I visited Austin and they were still talking about it.

Two days ago, twenty-three year-old Seung-hui Cho walked through Norris Hall at VA Tech shooting students and faculty. He killed 32 people, including two early that morning in a student dorm. Once again, the nation is shocked, but we are no longer stunned. This spree shooting is simply the bloodiest and most recent in a line of memorable shootings.

The worst thing about living in a post-Columbine world is that Columbines are no longer inconceivable. What was once incomprehensible has become comprehensible. For some disturbed souls, such incidents become challenges to out-Columbine Columbine.

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How to Please an (ex) Customer

Filed under: Charlottesville,Virginia — semi @ 6:41 pm

Yesterday, I received a call from Don Gibson, Director of Sales for nTelos. He had read my blog entry detailing my odd episode with an nTelos retail manager that ultimately drove me to the competition. I had a very pleasant and informative chat with Don and I think we both concluded with a better understanding of each other.

First, Don apologized on behalf of nTelos. Then he made it clear that he was calling just to discuss my experience, not to win me back as an nTelos customer. Then he apologized several more times, to the point where I found it a little awkward. For the record, the only reason I blogged about the incident in the first place was just to start a conversation about the implementation of senseless and annoying business policies, so receiving this call was quite a pleasant surprise.

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